Nanites, so that's what had been in the food.  

Cecil knew it wasn't an altruistic gesture, but he had assumed a chemical agent.  This was a different beast.  How long would it take to disable them?  Two hours, if he had his own lab and was undisturbed.  Not an option, apparently.  What about stealthily, on the go, with limited tools?  Far from ideal.  Probability of success was low.  Okay, what is known?  It might be better to ask what can be reasonably surmised, but that's a dangerous game when detonation is the price for failure.  

His mind continued to work as the guards relieved him of his cuffs and opened the storage bin that contained the items he was last arrested with.

They are definitely able to [i]receive[/i] signals.  It is highly likely that they give off some kind of signal as well, to track the squad.  They are likely homogeneous, and able to operate on their own(otherwise they would need a central controller, and there's no way to guarantee that the victim eats that part.  They need to be able to function no matter what proportion that victim actually consumed).  The safest route is to first. . . 

"Jesus Christ!" Cecil's train of thought broke off as he flinched away from the horrible monster that erupted from the hot babe who had been standing next to him a moment before.  

He regained his composure, and tried to play off his loss of cool by going through his possessions.  In a cavalier display of immodesty, Cecil stripped out of his prison orange and into the clothes he had been arrested in.  Laid out neatly under them in the storage bin was a smart phone, and a sleek little tool of his own design.  It was a multitool that could unfold into configurations that could fit most common forms of screws, nuts and the like.  It also had snips and a small electric torch that could range from soldering to cutting and welding, depending on how much batter life was left.    

Perhaps, he told himself finally, he should put some thought toward the mission, in case he was not able to escape.